


Absolutely Smitten

by secreterces5



Category: Don't Starve (Video Game)
Genre: Angst with a Hopeful Ending, Charlie being a dork in love, Charlie makes a pun, F/M, Fluff and Angst, How apparent is it that Winona doesn’t like Maxwell? /j/s, M/M, Maxwell being a softie, Multi, Song Lyrics, Songfic, Whoever wants to fight Maxwell please don’t, Wilson being the only one with brains (as usual), Winona being a great sister, absolutely smitten by dodie, also whoever wants to fight their parents go ahead, because she’s wonderful like that, it’s mostly Winona not understanding Charlie being Straight, oh yeah hinted lesbian Winona
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-09-27
Updated: 2020-09-27
Packaged: 2021-03-08 00:01:53
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,136
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26686327
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/secreterces5/pseuds/secreterces5
Summary: A series of small snippets of Charlie and Maxwell’s story and relationship, from Winona’s point of view. She can see how absolutely smitten her sister is. And maybe she doesn’t understand it, but that doesn’t mean she’d ever, even for a second, doubt her decisions.
Relationships: Charlie/Maxwell (Don't Starve), barely mentioned but intentional Maxwell/Wilson
Comments: 7
Kudos: 19





	Absolutely Smitten

**Author's Note:**

> This is a fluffy songfic that turns a little angsty towards the end. I, however, am too much of a softie to make it completely hopeless, so don’t worry. Things will be okay. Probably.

_She knows this feeling all too well_

_She feels her heart begin to swell_

Winona knew, the moment Charlie came home from the interview, that something was happening. Her sister was giddy, a wide grin on her face, and she was seconds away from bursting with excitement.

“I take it the interview went well?” she asked her, and Charlie responded with an excited squeal and a hug.

“Oh my goodness, Winnie, no! The interview was horribly awkward, I have no idea if I’ll get the job, and I almost fell down the stairs on my way out!”

Winona’s brows furrowed as she sneaked out of her sister’s embrace. “Then… have you finally gone mad? Why are you smiling like that?”

“Oh, because I’ve met someone wonderful! The man who posted the ad, he’s– oh he’s a delight! He was so nice, even though I practically repeated myself over a few times, I think he’s new to this too, because he obviously wasn’t used to the name he was using, so it must’ve been a stage name, and I asked him to call me Charlie and not Charlotte, so it was new to the both of us, and oh he’s very elegant and sweet and–”

“Wow, if you have so much to say about him already, I sure hope you get the job,” Winona chuckled.

“I do, too!”

Charlie runs out of the room to put away her coat, and Winona watches her go with a smirk. Someone just won themselves a ray of sunshine.

_Handsome stranger, you have made her insides_

_Turn to jelly_




_She wants to dance around the room_

_Kiss you until her lips turn blue_

Charlie was practically unstoppable since the moment she got out of bed. While her parents watched her with blatant judgement, her sister couldn’t help but be as excited as Charlie herself. After having met the mysterious magician a few more times, everything was finally settled and she could start working with him, and the joy she felt radiated off of her in waves of warmth and giggles.

“But Winny, are you _sure_ this costume is better than the other one??” she asked for the umpteenth time.

“No. I am not sure. I don’t understand what could make one better than the other. I have told you this before, Charlie,” Winona groaned, but her complaints were light-hearted and hardly even noticed anyways, as Charlie kept staring at the two outfits.

Her new coworker let her choose her own costume, which Winona honestly appreciated, because some men just did _not_ understand either fashion or what is and is not proper for a woman to be seen in. Not that she understood fashion or dressed properly, but she would definitely mess up anyone who tried to dress Charlie in anything gross.

“You know what, I’ll take the lighter one, that way I won’t draw too much attention away from him.”

“He’s the main attraction, Charlie, I doubt you could manage that.”

Charlie snorted and turned to look at her sister: “Winny, I won’t lie to you. Mister Carsons may be tall and handsome, but he’s also as pale as a blank sheet of paper. If I wore anything bright enough, he might completely blend in with the background.”

Winona raised a brow: “I don’t think he’d appreciate you talking about him like that.”

“Oh he’d understand I mean well,” Charlie waved her hand dismissively. “One could say I mean _Max-well_ ,” she added in a quieter voice, and it made Winona gasp.

“Was that wordplay again?!”

“Hey, he actually appreciates my wordplay!” Charlie yelled with a smile and threw the closest object she could reach, which happened to be her hairbrush, at Winona.

“Then I guess it doesn’t matter what you wear because his bad taste is obvious just from that,” Winona retorted, catching the hairbrush and standing up to approach Charlie. “Now pick one already. If you don’t get ready in time, you might just manage to find another way to disappoint him, if your wordplay jokes didn’t work. I’ll help with your hair.”

_Handsome stranger, you have made her wonder:_

_Is she pretty?_




_But it’s too late_

_She believes in fate_

He absolutely did not look handsome to Winona. Then again, no man did, but she failed to see how Charlie could’ve picked this one to ramble Winona’s ear off about. But maybe that was it? Maybe this was how she could be sure the man is genuinely nice?

She gave the photo back to Charlie. “Hey, not to offend you or anything, but. Uh. Have you… looked at the man? Ever?”

“Oh I’m always looking at him, it’s my job and my pleasure.” Charlie gave her a pure and innocent smile and a look of curiosity. “Why?”

Winona blinked. She opened her mouth, and then closed it again. “Oh, no reason, dear sister. He’s lucky to have you as his assistant.”

“Aww, Winnie! That’s so lovely of you to say, thank you!”

_She’s absolutely smitten_

_She’ll never let you go ~_




_That girl just there, yes, she’s the one_

_With Cupid’s arrow in her thumb_

As weeks became months, things changed, just a tad. “Mister Carsons” became “Maxwell” and then “Maxy,” and boy did Charlie talk about him a lot.

Not to their parents, though, never to their parents. Ever since Winona expressed her desire to move out on her own and Charlie made the announcement about being accepted as a magician’s assistant, neither of them was in their parents’ good favor, and neither really wished to disappoint their parents further by anything else.

This, unfortunately, also meant that whenever they all sat together to eat, it was a silent meal full of judgmental glares, and Winona knew Charlie was holding back tears every time her mother made a rude comment about anything related to her job. The sisters never said a word, though, hoping that soon, Winona would be able to afford a house she picked out, and they’d both move there.

For now, she sat, silent, at the dinner table, her only comforting thought being that whenever Charlie would leave for another show, her smile would return.

_Handsome stranger, you have made her happy_

_First in a long time_




_...did you just whisper in her ear?_

_Words she only dreamed to hear_

“…and sometimes, we talk late into the night, just like you and me used to do, because I’ve told him I was terribly afraid of the dark…”

As Winona read word after word of Charlie’s newest letter to her, she couldn’t help but roll her eyes. Her sister no longer even tried to hide the growing crush on the man she did magic shows with.

The fact that her little sister was currently staying at the same hotel as him (after storming out on their parents in a manner that made Winona want to cheer and celebrate) probably helped these feelings of her grow. Winona honestly couldn’t understand what was happening between them at this point, but Charlie seemed happy in every new letter, and that was enough for her. _I really ought to meet this Carsons at some point,_ she thought. _If he’s this much of a delight, it can’t be for no reason, after all._

For now, she simply wrote back: “Dearest sister of mine, just in case you’ve gone blind since we’ve last met: I believe you might have found yourself a happy ending.”

_Pretty lady, look at how he’s smiling_

_I think he likes you!_




_But it’s too late_

Then, Charlie vanished without a trace. Winona read it in a newspaper sooner than her parents even bothered to reach out to her to mention it. “Their greatest trick yet: Disappearing without a trace!” the title read. They assumed her to be dead, probably an accident caused by the magician’s carelessness, they said.

_You believe in fate_

Winona refused to believe this so easily. And so, she set out to find her. And she tracked her down, too, she found a factory, and in it, a portal, and in the portal, her sister, in the grasp of something dark, something horrible. She tried to get her out, tried to get her beloved little sister back, but instead, whatever monstrosity took over Charlie dragged Winona through, into the Constant.

_You’re absolutely smitten_

Many months of trying to survive later, Winona stood before yet _another_ statue of the man who caused it all. She used to wish to meet him, but now she was certain that if she ever met the man, she would punch him in the face.

_You’ll never let her go ~_




_🎶 Oooh… 🎶_

And punch him in the face she did. As soon as she recognized one of the figures appearing in front of the group of Survivors through a portal that wasn’t there just a second ago, her hands curled into fists. She yelled out “ _YOU!_ ” and without further warning marched over to Maxwell Carsons and hit him in the face so hard he stumbled backwards. The only reason she didn’t get more hits in was the short man in a red vest who moved to stand between them.

_But it’s too late_

A short head count and a long explanation later, Winona was already giving out orders and instructions to the crowd of survivors. Now that they were all together, they should hypothetically have a higher chance of surviving and getting out, but as both the scientist and the de-throned king kept mentioning, this probably meant a change of plans of whoever was in charge, which in turn meant they were still not safe. A camp needed to be set up right away.

Finally, the only two left without a job to do were the ones she trusted the least. “Higgsbury, you can take him with you. Keep an eye on him, since you’re so keen on keeping him alive,” she almost growled, sending the two on their way with narrowed eyes.

_Oh, I believe in fate_

After a few days have already come by, as things settled into a new routine, Winona watched a lonesome fireplace set up a good distance away from the rest of the camp. The man she no longer really felt anything but pity for was sitting there, hunched over that stupid book of his, and was probably searching for some new tricks that could help the camp out. Winona has to admit, he’d been useful, mostly. Had something weird going on with the scientist, but who was she to judge, anyways.

She watched Maxwell’s fire dying down. He wasn’t taking notice of it. And Winona could almost hear Charlie getting anxious, she hated the dark, and she wouldn’t let _anyone_ be endangered by it.

And so, she huffed, rolled her eyes, and picked up a few of her own logs, approaching the small light Maxwell sat by.

“Hey, Carsons,” she called.

He jumped, obviously not expecting company, and then glared at her when he recognized her. “Miss McAllison. Have you come to punch me again?”

“What? No! I brought you wood, your fire is almost out.”

He looked over at the fire place and his eyes widened as he realized what danger he almost put himself in. “Ah, I hadn’t even noticed.” He turned back to Winona with a wary expression. “…thank you? Why would you do that for me? I thought you of all people would really see no reason to help me out,” he said bitterly.

She sat next to him, feeding the fire with the wood she brought. “Because my sister had to have seen _something_ good in you. And she would give you a second chance.”

“…she most likely would, the naive little thing.”

“‘The naive little thing’? Try ‘the pure short idiot’.”

“How can you call her that? She’s your sister! And besides, she was by no means an idiot.”

Winona looked at him, somewhat shocked. “You came to her defense quick.”

“As she would to mine,” Maxwell huffed, as if he was offended by her surprise.

_I’m absolutely smitten_

There was silence for a while, with only the fire hissing and crackling, and the forest around them echoing quiet, ominous noises. Winona vaguely wondered if Charlie, or whatever had possessed her, was somewhere nearby.

As if he was reading her mind, Maxwell spoke up: “You need to know that… if I find anything in here,” he gestured to the book, “that could help us get her back, I will do everything in my power to do so.”

_I’ll never let you go!_

Winona nodded. “I know. Say the word and I’ll help with anything. We need to get all these people out, of course we do, but… I won’t leave without Charlie, Carsons.”

_I’ll never let you go…_

“You won’t have to, Miss McAllison.”

_I’ll never let you go._


End file.
